Retrogression
by Mo Cat
Summary: The crew gets sent through time warps... Again... I hate writing summaries.
1. Chapter 1

Beka hummed as she walked to her quarters. She was happy that Harper was better, and Dylan gave the whole crew ten hours of down time. When she came to Harper's door, she saw Sherlock sitting down the hall looking around the corner. "Sherlock, what are you doing?" Beka asked him, half expecting an answer from the strange cat. He meowed slightly and looked at her. Then he seemed to pounce at whatever he was looking at around the corner. Beka laughed a little and followed him. Around the corner, she saw a small kitten with dark gray and black stripes. "Where did you come from?" she asked as she picked up the kitten. As soon as she touched him, she got the strangest feeling she'd held the kitten before. She heard Harper whistling as he approached his door. "Hey, Harper, look what I found." She held up the kitten and smiled. Harper stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the kitten.   
  
"Beka," he said slowly, "put the kitten down."  
  
"What's wrong with you? It's just a kitten."  
  
"It's the spawn of Satan, now put it down." Beka looked at him strangely. "Do you mean to tell me you don't remember that cat?"  
  
Beka looked at the cat and shrugged. "I've got the feeling I've seen this cat before, but I have no idea where."  
  
"Beka, that's the cat that kept popping up in your distress calls when you were trapped in the tunnel."  
  
Beka nearly dropped the kitten when Harper said this. Harper carefully took the kitten from her and held it out. "I think Dylan needs to see this."  
  
* * *  
  
Dylan sat in his chair at his desk in his quarters. He looked over some flexies while he waited for Andromeda to warm up a cup of tea for him. Just as the timer went off for his tea, Harper barged in carrying a black and dark gray kitten, followed by Beka. "Look familiar, Cap'n?" Harper asked. Dylan looked at the kitten closely and sat back.   
  
"How did that get back on my ship?" he asked angrily.  
  
"I don't know, but I don't like it."  
  
"What's so bad about this thing anyway?" Beka asked from behind Harper. "Harper refuses to tell me."  
  
Dylan looked at the cat while he spoke. "We're not sure what this thing is, but we know it can't be good. It showed up in your distress signals from the tunnel, and you tried to convince me to let you keep it while you were… not you…"   
  
Holo-Rommie appeared next to Dylan's desk. "Dylan, I'm picking up significant energy waves coming from the cat."  
  
"What does that mean?" Harper asked, suddenly panicked.   
  
"I don't know, Harper," Rommie replied, annoyed. "I would suggest running some tests on it. It could be some kind of surveillance device left behind by the tunnel aliens."  
  
"Why would they do that?" Beka asked.  
  
"I don't think they were planning on being destroyed by us. Or they might have planted it to keep watch on the Commonwealth officials when they weren't near them." Holo-Rommie disappeared, leaving Beka, Dylan, and Harper to ponder her suggestions.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	2. Chapter 2I gave up on naming chapters

I forgot the disclaimer in the first chapter. I don't own them and never will.  
  
~ ~ ~   
  
Beka went back to her quarters more worried than she had been earlier. Every time Rommie tried to run a test on the kitten, her systems blinked out and Harper had to run some checks. When Rommie finally gave up trying, Dylan sent everybody to their quarters for some much-needed down time. When Beka finally crawled into her bed, she pulled a flexie book from under her pillow and read quietly. Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier until she finally drifted into a deep sleep.   
  
"Hey, Rocket!" Young Beka turned to see her Uncle Sid sitting in the captain's chair on the Maru. "Where'd your Dad and your brother go?" Young Beka looked around hopelessly, unable to find her father and her brother.   
  
"Daddy?" she cried out, at the verge of tears. "Daddy, where are you?" Sid appeared in front of her with a broad smile on his face.   
  
"He's probably on another flash binge, Rocket." A slight malicious laugh came from his throat. Suddenly Beka was older, back on Diphda Five in Sid's office. Sid sat at his desk in front of her, the same malicious laugh coming from his throat. The intense feeling of being high on flash slowly came back to her and she began to laugh as well.  
  
Beka woke up the next morning feeling like she had a hang over. She rolled out of bed and pulled on some clothes, then wandered down to the mess hall for coffee and breakfast. Trance was already in there when she got there, and she had a pot of coffee already made. "Hi, Trance," she said groggily.   
  
Trance smiled a little. "Enjoy your down time, Beka?" she joked.   
  
"I had a really strange dream last night," Beka said as she poured a cup of coffee. "Uncle Sid was in it. First I was eight, and he was asking me where my dad was. Then I was back on Diphda Five and I could feel the high from the flash he forced into my eyes." She took a sip from her cup and waved her hand at her open mouth to cool her burned tongue. "Man that's hot," she complained. "So what do you think about my dream?"  
  
Trance looked up from her plate of food. "Sounds strange. Have you ever had this dream before?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Hmm…" Trance sat in deep thought for a moment. "I don't know what to tell you. All I can say is that it was just an ordinary dream."  
  
"It certainly felt real." Android Rommie walked through the door with a scowl on her face. "What's wrong, Rommie?" Beka asked.  
  
"I can't figure out the stupid cat," Rommie said angrily. "Every time I run a scan on it, my systems blink out. Harper's had to jumpstart all of my systems three times since the first time we tried to run a test on the thing last night. It's so frustrating."  
  
"Rommie frustrated? And by a cat no less…" Trance joked. Rommie gave her a look. "Well, I'm sorry Rommie, but you seem pretty upset about this. I thought you could use a little humor or something."  
  
Harper's voice came over the comm. link. "Rom Doll, I told you not to try another test on the little spawn of Satan."  
  
"I didn't." Rommie looked confused.  
  
"Well then why are your systems blinking out again?" There was a pause, then a gasp. "Rommie, you don't think that Lucifer there put a virus into your system?"  
  
"I find it highly unlikely." Rommie's eyes wandered. "Besides, I'm not detecting any viruses."  
  
"Alright…" Another pause. "I'll log in and see if I can figure out what's wrong." Rommie's comm. clicked. The high-pitched sound of electrical static came from everyone's comm.'s. Beka dropped her cup of coffee on the floor and it smashed into a million pieces. Coffee splattered all over the floor. When the static finally stopped, the three of them stood with their hands over their ears. Rommie tried to contact Dylan, but it didn't work. She tried to contact Harper, and it still didn't work. She stood as if she were listening for something. "I can't see anything that's going on in the ship."  
  
"What?" Beka and Trance asked simultaneously.  
  
"I've been cut off from the ship." 


	3. Chapter 3

"Rommie!" Dylan shouted into his comm. He stood at his desk in his quarters. "What the…?" He started to walk out of his quarters and ran into Rommie on the way out. "There you are," he said with a sigh. "What's happening?"  
  
"I don't know, but I have a feeling it has something to do with our furry visitor."   
  
"What in the name of all that is considered holy is going on?" Tyr's angry voice came from the corridor. Everyone shot a glance at him and turned away.  
  
"Great. Messed up systems and an angry Nietzschean," Rommie thought. "What a wonderful day." Then she realized something. "What about Harper?" she said out loud. Everyone looked around to see if Harper hadn't joined them silently.  
  
"Where was he last time you heard from him?" Dylan asked.   
  
"My guess is machine shop. I didn't really pay that much attention."  
  
All five of them stalked though the corridors toward machine shop. Rommie's earlier conversation with Harper ran through her mind. "I'll log in and see if I can figure out what's wrong," Harper's words repeated themselves in her memory. "I wonder if he ever did log in," she thought. "I hate being cut off from myself." Then she saw Harper walking toward them, rubbing the back of his neck.   
  
"I hate sparks," he shouted. "Rommie, what's happening to you? The second I hooked up, your systems went berserk and I got kicked out… Painfully at that…"   
  
"I was about to ask you the same question," Rommie said. "I'm cut off from the ship. I have no idea what's going on anywhere on the ship but where I am."  
  
"Um… Guys?" Beka said quietly. Everybody ignored her and went on talking.  
  
"Harper, is there anyway you can fix her?" Dylan asked.  
  
"I can try," Harper said painfully.  
  
"Guys…" Beka said a little louder. They still ignored her.  
  
"What do you mean you'll try?" Tyr said. "You've fixed this ship plenty of times, what makes this any different?"  
  
"I'd have to do it all manually. I think my cerebral port was damaged." Trance grabbed his face and turned his head to the side. She inspected his cerebral port closely.  
  
"I don't see anything wrong with it."  
  
"GUYS!" Beka shouted. Everyone turned to her. They looked in the direction she was staring and saw the little kitten sitting at Harper's feet. Harper freaked out and didn't move. "Rommie, I thought you locked this thing up," Beka said through her teeth.  
  
"I did," Rommie replied through her teeth.   
  
"Get it away from me," Harper said quietly.   
  
Trance rolled her eyes and picked the kitten up. "Guess I have to be the brave one," she said as she stared at Tyr.   
  
"I can't stand kittens," he said making an excuse. "What is wrong with all of you? I know none of you hate kittens more than me."  
  
"Think reeeaaalll hard, Tyr," Beka said. "Remember it at all from the tunnel?"  
  
Tyr stared at the kitten. "No," he said blandly.   
  
"Well, it's from the tunnel," Harper said. "Spawn of Satan in the fur." He rubbed the back of his neck more. "Man, have I got a headache."   
  
Beka blinked and looked at him. For a brief second, she could have sworn he looked like he did when she first met him. She rubbed her eyes and shook her head, then looked at him some more. He looked the same as he had a few minutes before. She shook her head again and passed it off as a trick of the eyes. Trance rolled her eyes again and carried the kitten back to its cage in the med deck. Everybody stood back and watched her as she walked away, golden dreadlocks swooshing behind her, and all of them thought she was crazy for touching the thing. 


	4. Chapter 4

Beka punched the punching bag as hard as she could. She thought she was alone, but really Tyr was watching her from a dark corner. He watched her as she punched and kicked the inanimate object, apparently venting some frustration. After the last punch, he began to applaud and she jumped. "What are you doing here?" she asked between breaths.   
  
"I was thinking," he said calmly. "Is something bothering you?"  
  
Beka wiped her forehead. "This cat- or whatever it is…" She searched for words. "I just can't figure it out… I don't remember it, but I'm scared of it. I don't know what it is, and I can't stop thinking about it." She sat down on a bench. "Doesn't it bother you?"  
  
"Not as much as it bothers you, apparently. I find it's best not to think of it. It may hold answers to our questions about what happened to us, but we don't know for sure, and I don't want to risk my life over it." He took a deep breath. "I lost my bone spurs, not my life. I'd like to keep it that way."  
  
Beka took into consideration what he said. "I guess you're right," she said defeated. She stood, patted his shoulder, and walked out of the room. She ran into Dylan not far down the corridor. "Oh, hi, Dylan," she said.  
  
"Beka," Dylan started, but stopped and looked at her. "Been working out?"  
  
"Do I smell that bad?" Beka smiled.   
  
Dylan shook his head. "Anyway," he said. "I need you to go try to talk to Harper."  
  
"What?" Beka sounded curious.  
  
"He's turned his comm. off and locked himself in the machine shop. Trance, Rommie and I have already tried to talk to him, but he won't answer us."  
  
"He's probably just drunk or something," Beka rolled her eyes as she said this. "I'll pull him out of it," she said confidently.   
  
She walked slowly and boldly through the corridors toward machine shop. When she reached the door, she held a fist up to knock on the door, but stopped herself when she heard Harper's voice. He was speaking in French. Harper didn't speak French. "Ah, crap," she said. "Harper!" she shouted.   
  
"Go away, Beka, I'm busy."  
  
"Harper, open the door."  
  
Dylan walked towards Beka. "Any luck?" he asked hopefully.  
  
"I think I know what's wrong with him, and I think I've figured out what that cat is doing."  
  
* * *  
  
The crew, minus Harper, stood on the command deck listening to Beka's take on what was happening. "That cat has got to be some kind of time warp," Beka explained. "Rommie, last night, did you see anything unusual?"  
  
Rommie looked embarrassed. "Well, I wasn't going to say anything. I thought you were sleepwalking or something. You left your quarters and went to the Maru late last night. Once you stepped onto the Maru, I engaged privacy mode."  
  
Beka pointed at Trance. "I told Trance that I had a dream last night that I was a little girl again back on the Maru with Uncle Sid, then I was back on Diphda Five. I have a feeling it wasn't a dream."  
  
"So you're saying this thing is distorting time?" Dylan said curiously. "How does that explain Harper's behavior?"  
  
"I heard Harper speaking French when I got to his door." Everybody stared at her blankly. "Harper doesn't speak French. But he did when that Perseid downloaded all that information into his cerebral port."  
  
"So you think he's having memories of it?" Trance asked.  
  
Beka shook her head. "Remember how he said he got kicked out of Rommie's systems painfully? Well, I think Rommie's systems have accidentally downloaded the information back into Harper's brain."  
  
Dylan looked to Rommie. "What do you think?"  
  
Rommie raised an eyebrow. "I can't be sure. Since I have no idea what's going on in my systems, I can't tell which files have been opened today."  
  
"Andromeda," Dylan said. Rommie's image appeared on the view screen. "Can you tell me which files stored in your system have been opened and downloaded to another place in the last twenty-four hours?"  
  
Rommie's image paused, then replied, "You'll find this interesting. The files that we extracted from Harper's brain have been opened and downloaded using an authorized code."  
  
"Which one?" Dylan asked, annoyed.  
  
"Harper's." Everyone turned and looked at Dylan. He raised an eyebrow and stormed out of the room. "Andromeda, disengage privacy mode in machine shop and find out what Harper's doing." He proceeded through the corridors to machine shop. The rest of the crew followed a few feet behind him, watching him curiously. When he reached the doors to machine shop, he pounded on them with both fists. "Harper!" There was no answer. "Harper, open the doors!" Still no answer. "I'm ordering you to open the doors!"   
  
Tyr approached the doors and quieted Dylan. "Boy, if you don't open the doors, I'll snap your neck so fast you'll think it tickled." There was a pause, then the doors slid open. A look of satisfaction came upon Tyr's face. Harper stood near a table in the machine shop holding a wrench in one hand and a nanowelder in the other. When he saw it was his crewmates, he put the makeshift weapons down and sighed.   
  
"What took you so long?" he whined.  
  
"You," Beka answered matter-of-factly. "Why wouldn't you open the doors?"  
  
"Why did you threaten to kill me?" Harper snapped back. He looked to Rommie. "Got any good news for me, sweetheart?"   
  
"First, don't call me sweetheart," Rommie replied. "Second, no good news, only bad. Your brain's on overload again."  
  
"Tell me something I don't know." Harper wiped his forehead. "Why is it always me?" he complained. "First, I get infested with Magog larvae. Then I got sick; really sick. Now my brain is overloaded, AGAIN!" He sat down on the table. "I don't know how much more I can take, boss."   
  
Beka looked at him with sympathy in her eyes. "You've taken a lot so far, I think you can manage more."   
  
"Beka?" Trance's small voice came from behind Beka. Beka turned and looked at Trance, who looked at the palm of her hand. Her face was full of pain. Beka looked at her palm. It was purple. She looked at Trance's face. A tear ran down her golden cheek. "I don't understand it." Beka ran her fingers through Trance's dreadlocks, and one of them came unfurled and turned pale yellow. "Dylan," Beka said. Dylan approached her. "Something is definitely going on." 


	5. Chapter 5

"Okay, everything's okay." Harper became panicky when he saw what was happening to Trance. "This is just one really bad, really long dream." He turned to Tyr. "Tyr, pinch me. I want to make sure this is just a dream." Tyr shrugged and pinched Harper's shoulder. Harper yelped and rubbed his shoulder. "Oh, crap." He walked away rubbing his shoulder.  
  
"Trance, are you feeling sick at all?" Dylan asked with concern in his voice. She shook her head. "Okay. So I'm assuming you're just in shock then, right?" She nodded. "Okay. Why don't we all mosey on down to command right about now?" Everybody agreed silently and followed Dylan, Beka with an arm around Trance, and Harper staying close to Tyr. Tyr would shoot him glances every so often and laugh to himself.   
  
"Dylan, I'm really starting to miss myself," Rommie complained. "When are you going to make Harper fix me?"  
  
"Harper's feeling a lot like shooting himself right now. He'll be back from the dead after lunch," Harper said.   
  
"Don't make me turn this ship around," Dylan said, half angry, half joking.  
  
"Yes, Dad," Rommie and Harper said simultaneously. Just as they said that, the lights on the ship went out and the crew was left in the dark.   
  
"Andromeda?" Dylan's voice broke through the darkness. "Andromeda, activate emergency lighting." The lights didn't come on and Andromeda didn't reply. "Andromeda?" Still no answer. There was a loud thump and Harper said, "Ow!" Dylan faced the noise, which now came from in front of the rest of the crew. "Harper, just don't move," he said.  
  
"Sorry, boss." A bright light blinded Dylan. The crew shielded their eyes while they adjusted to the light. When they could see again, Harper stood in front of them holding a flashlight. They all looked at him suspiciously. "I had it in my tool belt," he explained. "I thought I could use it as a weapon." Dylan snatched the flashlight from him and continued toward command. Him and Tyr had to open the large doors manually when they got there. Every console and every computer was offline. Harper noticed the quiet. "The engines are offline." Andromeda was dead in space, or so it seemed to the crew.   
  
Beka stood in complete awe. "This all started with the kitten," she said quietly. She turned to Trance, who shimmered in the light from the flashlight. The skin on her face was turning purple as well, and her hair was becoming more yellow by the minute. Tyr and Dylan opened up cabinets in the walls and handed out the flashlights that were hidden in them to the rest of the crew. "Harper, you come with me to the engine room. The rest of you, stay here," Dylan said. His tone was that of someone who was annoyed.   
  
"Boss, I don't know what's going on here, but I don't like it," Harper said as they walked. He flinched as a ping of pain hit him. "I don't know how much more of this I can take, Dylan."   
  
Dylan paid no attention to what Harper said. Thoughts raced through his mind as they walked. "What the hell is causing this?" he thought. "It doesn't make sense that it's only the kitten causing this."   
  
"Boss." Harper's voice broke his concentration. He looked at Harper, who had stopped walking and was now holding a hand to a wall. "We have got to do something quick. Without the Andromeda's systems online, she can't regulate pressure inside. If the pressure inside the ship goes any lower than the pressure outside, we're going to have major hull breaches. Sooner or later, she'll implode."  
  
Dylan let Harper's words sink in as he looked around at the walls. "No power, no pressure… Which means implosion… No power means no escape pods, no power doors, no chance for the Maru to escape…" he thought. He continued walking towards the engine room. Harper followed him closely, mouthing the words that were in his mind but never making a sound. He would flinch every few minutes from pain.   
  
* * * 


	6. Chapter 6

Tyr, Trance, Beka, and Rommie sat on the command deck waiting for Dylan and Harper to return. Beka had an arm around Trance's shoulders. Trance's skin was turning more purple and her hair was almost completely yellow. Tyr sat by himself against a wall with his eyes closed. He was thinking about the things he never got to do and how he would probably never see his son again. Rommie stood at a console hopelessly tapping random buttons. All was silent. Only Trance's sniffles broke the silence. She finally gathered the courage to say something.  
  
"I hope Harper can fix the ship."   
  
Nobody answered her. She bowed her head and continued rubbing her arms, which were now completely purple.   
  
* * *  
  
"Harper, be careful down there," Dylan shouted in the darkness. "You're probably the only one besides Rommie who can fix this ship."  
  
"And even she can't do it as good as I can…" Harper's voice was faint, but cut through the darkness like a knife. There was a spot of light where he had the flashlight shining. Dylan could see that he worked hard to jumpstart the engine. "You know, you could help, boss. Just a suggestion…" Dylan came out of the trance he was in and found his way to where Harper was.   
  
"Are you sure you can get this thing started?" he asked with doubt in his voice. Harper gave him a look and went back to work. "I know, stupid question."  
  
"Hold that," Harper said as he handed Dylan a wrench.  
  
* * *   
  
Trance still rubbed her arms. She was starting to get cold. "Think he's almost got it fixed?" Nobody answered her again. "Look, you guys need to start talking or something, because the quiet is really starting to get on my nerves."  
  
"I'm sure he's doing fine, Trance," Beka said. "Harper's good at fixing things without making them blow up."  
  
Just then the ship lurched slightly. Rommie rushed to the doors and listened intently. "I hear fire," she said.   
  
"I hope I wasn't wrong…" Beka said as she rushed toward the engine room.  
  
  
  
"I'm okay," Harper said painfully, even though he really wasn't. A cut ran across his left eyebrow and he had been unconscious for two minutes. "Dylan?"   
  
There was the sound of Dylan moaning in pain coming from just a few feet away from where Harper sat. Harper stumbled over to Dylan's side. Dylan had been thrown up against a wall by the force of the small explosion. Blood seeped slowly from the back of his head, and he held his left shoulder with his good hand. "That wasn't fun," he managed to say.   
  
"Can you walk, boss?" Harper said as he began to pull Dylan up. "We need to get you to medical." He listened for a second. "Still didn't get the ship started…"   
  
"Dylan? Harper?" Rommie's voice came from beyond the thick gray smoke.   
  
"Over here, Rommie. Dylan's hurt." Harper and Dylan hobbled through the smoke to Rommie, with Harper under Dylan's right side. Harper didn't need to bend his knees at all since Dylan towered over him. Once they reached her, Rommie helped Harper.   
  
"What happened?" She asked.   
  
"Just a little mishap… nothing huge. It's nothing I can't fix in a matter of minutes."  
  
*  
  
An hour later, Harper was still working on the engine. Beka sat near-by all the while, listening to him spout various obscenities and phrases in languages she had never heard. Tools were thrown, bruises appeared, and blood was spilled… Then he got mad…   
  
"I have had it up to here with this stupid piece of—" He was cut off by Beka's voice.   
  
"Harper, calm down," she said. "You've fixed this thing plenty of times, what makes this any different?"  
  
"Well, let's see here…" He counted off on his fingers as he stated the reasons. "No power, not a lot of time, AND A MAJOR FREAKING HEADACHE!" He took deep breaths as he clamed himself down. Beka began to laugh wildly. "WHAT?" he asked angrily. Beka caught her breath and explained herself.  
  
"I forgot how funny you look when you're angry!" She started laughing again. Harper rolled his eyes and turned back to his work. He finally gave up and kicked the engine. When he felt the pain in his foot, he grabbed it and hopped around on his other foot. Beka continued laughing hysterically. The ship creaked a little and Dylan's voice came from the corridor that led to the engine room.   
  
"Beka, what's going on down here?" he asked.  
  
"She's laughing at me, boss," Harper answered. The ship creaked louder and Beka stopped laughing. "What was that?" Harper whispered.   
  
The ship rocked violently and the three were tossed around. When the ship settled again, Dylan made sure the other two were all right. Rommie, Tyr, and Trance appeared in the doorway, all out of breath. "There was a hull breach near command," Rommie explained. "We don't have much time. Harper, why isn't this thing working yet?"  
  
"I don't know. It won't start. I've tried everything, I even kicked it," Harper said, exasperated. He flinched and grabbed his forehead. This time the pain didn't go away. He kept silent, not wanting to worry the rest of the crew.   
  
"We're going to die, aren't we?" Trance asked nobody in particular. "I knew the second I saw that cat that we were going to die."  
  
"Trance, we're not going to die," Beka reassured her. "We're just having some bad luck right now. Harper's going to fix the problem and everything will be okay."  
  
"Why is it always me who has to make everything okay?" Harper said quietly. Everybody looked at him in surprise. "Everybody always wants me to fix everything." He lifted his head to show his face, which had great pain in it. "Well, what're you going to do when I'm not around to fix everything anymore? Huh? Is Tyr going to take up mechanics? How about Dylan? Brave Captain Hunt…" He stood up.  
  
"Harper, sit down," Tyr said.  
  
"Captain Hunt who can't even fix his own ship," Harper continued. "Wouldn't know a slip drive from a console…"   
  
"Harper, you don't know what you're saying," Beka said. He held up a hand to quiet her.   
  
"Everybody always thinks Dylan is the one who keeps this ship together. Mention the Andromeda Ascendant to somebody, and all they have to say is, 'Oh, you mean the ship Dylan Hunt commands.' What about the rest of us? What about me?"   
  
"Harper, sit down!" Dylan shouted. "What is wrong with you?"  
  
Harper stopped short and put both hands on his head. He staggered for a moment. Dylan stood by him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Harper?" He saw that Harper had a bloody nose. Harper fell to the floor unconscious. Trance gasped and crawled to his side. 


	7. Chapter 7

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
"Can you fix it, Rommie?" Dylan asked with a worried voice.   
  
"I think so…" She struggled with something for a moment, then fell backwards. The ship came to a roaring start and the lights turned back on. Their comm. links went on the fritz for a second, but soon quieted down.   
  
"You fixed it!" Beka's voice came over the comm. system. "Good job, Rommie."  
  
"Yes, thank you… Now the matter of fixing Harper." Rommie walked away from the engine and toward the medical deck where Trance watched over Harper. "Trance, can you …" She was cut off by a loud bang. She turned to look behind her and came face to face with a Magog. One single Magog. "Dylan-" She was cut off again by the Magog's hairy fist. She fell backwards and retaliated with a forceful kick to the Magog's stomach. The Magog staggered and caught his balance on the wall. Dylan approached him and wrapped his arms around his neck. Rommie got to her feet again and ran to where she had been working earlier. She picked up her force lance. "Dylan!" she shouted. Dylan turned, and as soon as he did, Rommie fired a shot at the Magog. The Magog fell to the floor, dragging Dylan with him. But the Magog kept fighting. He threw Dylan off his back and stood up, dusting off the singed hair on his chest. Rommie looked puzzled for a second, then pounced on the Magog and started punching.   
  
* *  
  
Beka walked the freshly lit corridors. She had no particular destination, but thought about stopping by the med deck to see if Harper was awake yet. She thought that the worst of this experience was over, and all that was left to do was clear Harper's database once again. As she walked, she thought she heard footsteps behind her, but every time she stopped, she didn't hear or see anything. When she continued walking, she heard the steps again. She finally started running, but the steps kept up with her. She was almost to the med deck when someone or something grabbed her arm. She spun around on her heals, only to find herself facing Sid. He had the same evil grin on his face as he did in her dream, but this time he seemed more malicious. His grip on her arm tightened, cutting off the circulation. She fought to get away, but his grip was too tight. He opened his mouth to say something, but instead of his voice, it was Tyr's. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, Tyr stood in front of her, gripping both of her arms. He shook her slightly and his mouth moved as if he was saying something, but she couldn't hear any words. She shook her head and his words came clear to her.   
  
"Beka, what's wrong with you?" he shouted. When she didn't answer, he started dragging her to med deck. He pushed her through the door and stormed in. Harper sat on one of the beds holding an ice pack to the back of his neck.   
  
"Hey, good to see you. Did ya miss me?" He saw the look on their faces and his smile faded. "Guess not."  
  
"Where's Dylan?" Tyr asked Trance.  
  
"He said he was on his way here, but that was fifteen minutes ago," Trance replied. Her purple skin shimmered in the light. She pushed a few buttons on the console she stood at and smiled. "Ready when you are, Harper."  
  
Harper took the ice pack off of his neck and picked up a wire jack that sat next to him. It was connected to the wall panel. He clicked the wire jack into his data port and leaned against the wall. After Trance pushed some more buttons and a few minutes of silence, Harper sat up and removed the wire jack. "That feels so much better," he said. "Now I need to get to the engine room to make sure my precious is okay." He jumped off the bed and waltzed out of the room cheerfully. Tyr followed him with a strange look on his face.  
  
"So, Tyr," Harper started to say.  
  
"Don't go into your normal rambling routine, boy," Tyr stopped him. "I enjoyed the silence while you were… not… normal…"   
  
Harper got a sly smile on his face. "C'mon, you big… you… You know that you missed me." Tyr gave no response. "I mean, Tyr, Big Guy, this is me you're talking about. Everybody loves the Harper. Except that girl I met on the Vegas Drift…" He trailed off into his own thoughts. Tyr smiled secretly and walked faster. "Good old Harper," he thought.   
  
"Tyr," Dylan's voice came over the comm. system. His voice was labored, like he was fighting somebody. "We need you here in the engine room, now!"   
  
"This reminds me of a bad kung fu movie…" Harper said as he started running. The first thing they saw when they arrived at the engine room was Dylan sitting against a wall with blood running down his face. Rommie fought a rather large Magog not far from where Dylan sat. The Magog turned and snarled at him. Harper gulped and hid behind Tyr. When the Magog started stalking toward them, Tyr fired a shot from his gause gun. The Magog merely flinched and kept coming. Tyr fired more shots with no prevail. Just when he was about to throw down his weapon to fight hand-to-hand, a shot was fired from behind them. The Magog screamed loudly and fell backwards. After a moment of silence, Rommie kicked the Magog, only to find that it was finally dead.  
  
* *   
  
When they arrived back at the med deck, Dylan sank into one of the beds. Trance saw the blood, grabbed rags, and raced to his side. When she pressed the rags to the cuts on Dylan's forehead, he winced in pain.   
  
"What happened?" Trance asked. She wiped some blood off of her purple hands.  
  
"It was a Magog. No, it was King Kong," Harper said. Everybody gave him a blank stare. "King Kong… Giant ape that went on a rampage in… Oh, forget it. You people are hopeless…" 


	8. Chapter 8

The crew remained silent after Harper's remark. He felt a little awkward after saying it. Then he looked around the room. Something was missing. "I've got the strangest feeling that something is missing," he said.   
  
Beka looked around the room with a confused look on her face. "I don't see anything that's missing," she said. Then it dawned on her. "The kitten," she said loudly. "Where's the kitten?" Everybody freaked and started looking around the room, under tables, and on top of shelves. "How could it have just disappeared?" Beka asked no one in particular.   
  
"I know it was in its cage just a few minutes ago," Trance said vacantly. "Harper, you saw it. You were teasing it before you cleared your head and left."   
  
There came a scratching noise at the door of the medical deck. All at once, everybody turned slowly to the door and looked on with worried eyes. Harper was the brave one who dared to approach the door to open it. He slowly pushed the button on the panel and the door slid open. As everybody ducked for cover, Sherlock wandered into the room and rubbed against Harper's leg. He meowed thoughtfully and stretched out. Everybody breathed a sigh of relief and let down their guard. Sherlock looked up at them and blinked. Harper picked the cat up scratched his head.   
  
"That cat has a way of scaring everybody," Tyr said. Sherlock gave a meow at this comment.   
  
"We're still missing the other one," Beka stated. When she said this, Sherlock jumped out of Harper's arms and wondered back out the door. He stopped as he reached the corridor and turned to the crew again. He stared with blinking eyes and meowed slightly. Having been owned by the cat for a few months, Harper knew when he was trying to tell him something, so he followed him into the corridor. Sitting all the way at the other end of the corridor was the kitten. It watched Harper as he walked into the corridor and its ears twitched. Harper slowly signaled the crew to join him in the corridor. Beka was the first one to arrive at his side.   
  
"I hate that thing," she said angrily. "Let's just kill it right now."  
  
"I second that motion," Tyr said when he saw the kitten. He stood at Beka's side with an angry scowl on his face.   
  
"Now, now, children," Dylan said as he joined them holding a cloth to his head, "calm yourselves. We don't know what could happen if we just shoot it down."  
  
"Yeah we do. It'd die. End of story," Beka said matter-of-factly. She pulled out her gause gun and aimed it at the kitten. The kitten just stared and blinked.   
  
"If the Magog was King Kong, this little kitten is The Blob…" Harper said. Again, he got blank stares in reply. "Never mind." He waved the idea away. He fell silent once more as he watched the kitten stand up and wander down the corridor. Everybody held their breath as it got closer. All at once, Beka's gun set off and there was a quick flash of light and a strange whistling sound. Harper jumped at the shot and fell backwards, landing on his back. Tyr looked back and laughed at him. "A bit edgy, are we?" he said with a sly smile. Harper pretended to laugh but stopped when he looked to where the kitten was when Beka fired the shot. There was no sign of the kitten. "Where'd it go?" he asked nervously.   
  
"That thing likes to just disappear, doesn't it?" Beka said, let down that she might not have killed the stupid thing. A strange creaking noise came from the other end of the corridor. The crew's attention was put on the noise, but none of them knew what it was. Harper stood up slowly and brushed himself off, even though the floors on Andromeda were impeccably clean. Beka watched tentatively to see if any new surprises were the cause of the strange noises. "Rommie, can you see anything?"  
  
Rommie was silent, then replied, "No. And I don't know why." She became frustrated again. "Harper, you have got to fix me soon. I hate being detached from the ship." She looked back at him, but he was lost in his own little world, wide-eyed and oblivious to her words, probably imagining what could be making the noise. "Harper," she whispered. He still didn't hear her. She gave up and turned back to the corridor. "Well we're not doing any good just standing here gaping like a bunch of buffoons. I say we go and see what's making that noise. It's probably just a loose panel or something that Harper needs to fix." She stepped forward and turned to her crew. "Well?" She rested her hands on her hips.   
  
"I'll go," Beka said. "I agree with you Rommie." Everybody else except Harper followed the two of them down the corridor. He remained in his world, motionless and gaping into the abyss. It wasn't until the rest of the crew disappeared around the corner at the end of the corridor that he woke up and realized they were gone. He shrugged and went back into the med deck with Sherlock following his feet. He lay down on one of the beds to think while he waited for the crew to get back. Sherlock jumped up with him and sat on his chest, staring at him with wondering eyes. "You can be stranger than I am sometimes, cat," Harper said. Sherlock meowed and jumped down. Suddenly a hand covered Harper's mouth. He heard a woman's voice say, "Try to shout and I'll make you wish you weren't a man." 


	9. Chapter 9

And so Harper sat silently, gun to head, listening to every word that came out of Satrina's mouth. She had threatened to either kill him or otherwise make him wish he were dead if he said a word unless it was in response to her questions. After everything that had happened that day, seeing his beautiful enemy didn't surprise him as much as it usually would. On this day, it seemed like anything was possible. Only now that he was scared out of his wits, he never made any comments about how beautiful she was or asked her if she wanted to cuddle.   
  
"Now I want to know how I got here and why I'm here," Satrina said forcefully.   
  
Harper raised an eyebrow. "You mean you don't know?"   
  
"Why would I be asking you if I did?" Satrina got closer to him. "Do you question my motives?"  
  
"Me? No!" Harper put his hands up in surrender. "Never. Now my guess is you're here because of whatever brought back the kitten, the Magog, and my little headache. It seems as though everybody onboard is facing at least one of their past enemies today. I was the lucky one to get two brought back…" The disappointment in his voice made Satrina angry.  
  
"Don't mock me," she said. "I'm very capable of killing you. You do know that, right?" Harper nodded. "Then be quiet."   
  
* * *   
  
"Was Harper's behavior weird or what?" Beka asked as she walked with the others down the corridor. The source of the noise was yet to be found.  
  
"After the day we've had, nothing comes as a shock to me anymore," Dylan said. "Rommie, what is he doing anyway?"  
  
"I have no idea," Rommie said angrily. "I'm connected with the ship again, but my linked sensors don't seem to be working all too well right now. I can't even tell if that hull breach has been repaired yet."   
  
"Shh…" Tyr stood like a soldier ready for battle. The creaking noise they heard was closer. Dylan and Tyr both crept forward, weapons ready if they were needed. They turned a corner together and found a peace of paneling hanging by a hinge. The two let down their guard and signaled the women and android to come take a look.   
  
"Well that's stupid," Beka blurted out. She felt embarrassed as the others looked at her strangely. "Well it is."   
  
They stopped staring at Beka when they heard a low grumbling noise coming from the hole where the panel should have been. The sound was that of a lion growling at something it felt was threatening. Tyr knelt in front of the hole and peered inside. He saw two red eyes that glowed brighter as the intensity of the growl grew. He hadn't the faintest idea what it was that stared back at him, but he knew it would attack if he stayed there much longer. "I think we should leave," he said as he stood up. But once he was his full height, a large furry creature pounced on him and started attacking. Trance watched helplessly as Dylan and Beka tried to aim at the beast. Neither fired for fear that they might accidentally shoot Tyr.   
  
  
  
"Keep walking," Satrina commanded when Harper stopped at a loud growling sound coming from another corridor. He obeyed her command and continued walking. He looked back when he heard shouts coming from the same direction as the growl. Satrina pushed his face back with the gun. "Don't think about your crew mates," she said. "They're perfectly capable of saving themselves. Besides, you wouldn't do them any good. You'd just get in the way." Harper cringed at her comment, but didn't give any words in return.   
  
* * *   
  
"Shoot it!" Trance shouted. Tears ran down her face now, and she shouted at Dylan and Beka. Finally she got so impatient, she grabbed the gun out of Beka's hand and fired at the beast that attacked Tyr.   
  
"No!" Beka shouted. She watched in shock as Tyr threw the dead animal off of him and stood up. "You did it, Trance," she said in awe.   
  
"What took you so long?" Tyr scolded them as he examined a deep cut on his forearm. Other smaller cuts covered his face and neck, but the one on his forearm was the most serious.   
  
"We didn't want to shoot you," Dylan explained.   
  
"So you'd rather let me die at the… paws of that creature?" Tyr said angrily.   
  
"I shot it," Trance said as if she were a girl trying to win Tyr's affection. Tyr just stared at her and shook his head.   
  
"Look," Beka said. "That thing looks like the kitten, only bigger." The others looked closely at the beast and saw that Beka was right. It had gray and black stripes, just like the kitten, but looked more like a circus sideshow attraction. Rommie looked at it in disgust and crinkled her nose.  
  
"Why any one would want to own a cat, I still don't know. At least Sherlock's not like that," she said thankfully. Then she remembered that Harper was not with them. "I'm going to go see what Harper's up to."  
  
When Rommie reached the med deck and found it empty, she thought for a moment, then shrugged her shoulders and called Dylan on the comm. link. "Well, I have no idea where Harper's gone. That's just perfect. I'm still sensor-blind, and he's off somewhere."  
  
"Rommie, stop complaining and just call him on his comm. link," Dylan said.   
  
Rommie rolled her eyes. "I was just about to do that," she made an excuse for not thinking of the idea. "Harper, where are you?"  
  
There was a one-minute pause before she received an answer. "Uh, machine shop, Rom Doll." Rommie could sense something in his voice. "Just working on some things here. Okay, so… Bye." His short conversation ended with a click. Rommie knew that something was wrong. There was a note of panic in his voice. "Dylan," she said into her comm. link, "I think something's wrong with Harper."  
  
"Not again," Dylan said. "Alright, I'll be right there."  
  
* * *   
  
"Your voice had too much worry in it," Satrina noted. "Next time somebody calls you, you better sound normal or I'll shoot you."  
  
"I can't help it," Harper said. He opened the door to the hangar where the Maru was kept and stood there, waiting for Satrina to enter. She sighed and pushed him through the door. "Okay, okay. I was just trying to be a gentleman."  
  
"Well then you should know that ladies always go first," Satrina said with a smile. It took Harper a moment to catch onto her insult. He rolled his eyes and shook his head.   
  
"Now what?" he said, exasperated.   
  
"Now," she said as she turned a knob on the gun, "I knock you unconscious with the stun setting and run off with the Maru." She laughed evilly and aimed the gun at Harper, who put his hands up in surrender.   
  
"No wait!" But his plead was unsuccessful and she fired at him. Blackness prevailed and he fell to the floor with a loud thump.   
  
* * *   
  
"He told me he was in machine shop," Rommie said angrily as she stood in the door of the machine shop. "I hate it when I'm right."   
  
Dylan sighed and rolled his eyes. "Andromeda." Andromeda's hologram appeared in front of him. "Can you find Harper?"  
  
"Yes, he's… Captain, I've detected a weapon's discharge in the Maru's hangar." 


	10. Chapter 10

* * *   
  
When they reached the hangar doors, Beka silently prayed that the Maru was still there, safe and sound where it should be. She hoped that the security system she installed actually worked. When the doors opened, she saw the Maru, although she wasn't sure it was exactly safe and sound. Harper lay on the floor unconscious, a burn mark on his red shirt where he had been shot. Dylan was the first to enter the room, first making sure there were no assailants waiting for them, then checking to see if Harper was still alive. Harper jolted awake at Dylan's touch.  
  
"I'll kill you, you… Oh, Dylan." Harper sat up and rubbed his shoulder, wincing at the pain. "She's on the Maru."  
  
"She?" Beka asked.   
  
"Satrina Leander."  
  
"Great," Beka said sarcastically. She stalked up to the Maru fearlessly and opened the door. She turned back to Dylan and Harper and said, "I'm getting sick and tired of this sh…" She was cut off by Satrina's hand.   
  
"If anybody takes one step towards this ship, I will paint the walls with her brain," Satrina threatened as she pulled Beka into the Maru and closed the door.  
  
"Dylan, we gotta do something," Harper pleaded.   
  
"Don't you think I realize that, Harper?" Dylan said, irritated. "Rommie, is there any way you can lock the hangar doors so she can't fly the Maru off of Andromeda?"  
  
"If I can get to the control panel closer to the door without her seeing me or shooting me, I can enter the codes and lock the doors," Rommie said uncertainly. "But what's keeping her from seeing me or shooting me?"  
  
Dylan started to think of a plan when he saw one of the service robots walk past the doors to the hangar. He ignored it at first, but then thought and stopped it. He directed it into the hangar and stood it next to Harper, who had a worried look on his face. Dylan looked back and forth between the robot and Harper. "Harper," he said, startling Harper. "Run to your quarters and get one of those funny Hawaiian shirts you used you wear and find a hat. I think I have a plan."  
  
Harper sighed and ran towards his quarters.   
  
* * *   
  
"Tell me the codes NOW," Satrina demanded as she held a fistful of Beka's blonde hair. The corner of Beka's mouth bled, and she had the signs of a bruise showing around her left eye. She still silently refused to give the codes to Satrina. She knew that if she could hold out long enough, Dylan would devise a plan to get her out of her current situation. Satrina back handed her across the cheek again and pulled on her hair harder. "NOW!"   
  
"You're never going to get the freaking codes from me, so why not just kill me now?" Beka gave Satrina a cold stare.   
  
"Because you're the only one who knows them, and I have a feeling that you don't do good under torture." Satrina let go of Beka's hair with a push and stepped in front of her. She raised her gun to Beka's leg and threatened to shoot if she didn't give her the security codes.  
  
"Okay, okay," Beka finally gave in.   
  
* * *   
  
"This isn't gonna work," Harper said with a sigh. He stood back and looked at the robot. Dylan's idea was strange, but logical. He had Harper put the Hawaiian shirt and hat on the robot. "She's gonna pick up on the fact that it's not me."  
  
"Harper, did anyone ever tell you that pessimism is a bad thing?" Dylan asked, annoyed.   
  
"Okay, it's off to… well, the unknown outcome," Rommie said as the robot walked towards the Maru. When it reached a certain point, Rommie diligently slid around the other side of the Maru to the hangar doors. Once there, she typed in a few codes, then made her way back to where Dylan and Harper stood watching her in amazement.  
  
"It worked," Harper said. "I can't believe it actually worked. You're almost as big a genius as I am, Dylan."  
  
"Thanks. I think," Dylan said, confused. "You should learn to trust me, Mr. Harper. Most of my plans work."  
  
"Yeah, most," Harper mumbled. "But we still have to get Beka out of there. Who knows what Satrina will do to her?"  
  
"Absolutely nothing," Beka said. She stood at the cargo door of the Maru, a smile on her face and a gun in her hand. "That takes care of her. Thanks for the distraction. Was that a robot in Harper's clothing?"  
  
"Beka!" Harper hurried over to her and hugged her tightly. "I thought she was going to kill you."  
  
"Harper, she may not have killed me, but she kicked my butt," she replied in pain.   
  
Rommie and Dylan stood next to each other, smiling happily. Dylan's comm. link clicked and Tyr's angry voice came on. "Dylan, I don't think these ships out here want to be our buddies."  
  
"What ships?" Dylan was thrown off his feet by the violent shaking of the ship. He landed hard on the floor and recovered to find the room spinning around him. "Tyr?" Tyr didn't answer. "I've had enough of this!" 


	11. Chapter 11

As Dylan walked fiercely through the corridors toward command, thoughts raced through his head. Am I stupid for going this way? What if Tyr's dead? "Dylan," Beka's voice interrupted his thoughts. He turned to her and they silently agreed that she was going with him. She charged a gun as she walked beside Dylan. They walked through the doors of command together and were both surprised at whom they saw inside.   
  
"Charlemagne?" they said in unison.   
  
"Oh, hello, Captain Hunt," Charlemagne Bolivar said as he turned and smiled at the two. "It's good to see you again."  
  
"Wish we could say the same," Beka said. "What are you doing on the Andromeda?"  
  
"Having a nice conversation with Mr. Anasazi." He looked over at Tyr, who gave him a dirty look. "Well, as nice as we can be."  
  
"Can we help you with anything, Mr. Bolivar?" Dylan asked impatiently.  
  
"Actually, I came here to help you. You see, I know what has been going on with your ship. We've been monitoring you since it started."  
  
"How...?"  
  
"It's simple, Captain Valentine," he stopped her. "We placed secret beacons on this marvelous ship after the conference last year that are undetectable by the AI. When these… strange events began, I had some techs and scientists keep an eye on you and the crew. Along the way, they figured out what was wrong and how to fix it."  
  
"Wait a minute," Beka said after some thought. "If you're here to help us, why did you fire at our ship?"  
  
"We didn't, Captain Valentine," Charlemagne said with a smile. "They did." Beka looked to the view screen and saw ten ships that had apparently been through some battles hovering near the Andromeda. "I do believe they want very much to destroy you and your ship, Captain Hunt."  
  
"What makes you say that?" Dylan asked vacantly. He was thrown back by another explosion and Charlemagne landed near him.   
  
"That," Charlemagne said with a moan.   
  
"This is all starting to get very confusing," Tyr said as he got back on his feet. "Weapons ready, Captain."  
  
"Fire at will, Mr. Anasazi." Tyr followed Dylan's orders and fired shot after shot at the enemy ships. The enemy ship that was hit first was barely affected by the explosion. A few seconds later, it fired back at Andromeda. The Andromeda was rocked by another explosion, and a few of the consoles on command exploded, sending out sparks.   
  
"Andromeda, aren't your shields working?" Dylan said as he struggled to stand again.   
  
"Not any more, Captain." Andromeda's hologram was flickering.   
  
"Harper," Dylan said into his comm. link, "fix the shields!"  
  
"I'm way ahead of you, boss," Harper replied.  
  
* * *  
  
"We're doomed," Harper said to himself. "Rommie, tell me where it hurts, baby."  
  
"My shields are down, my defense systems are failing, and my AI is starting to fade."  
  
"Oh, crap!" Harper jumped into a conduit and opened one of the panels. He fiddled with some of the wires, and then jumped out of the conduit and raced to a console. "Come on…" He pushed a sequence of codes, hoping that the shields would return to full capacity. Nothing happened at first, but then Andromeda's hologram appeared in front of him, still flickering.  
  
"Shields are back on line, but they're only at 90%."  
  
"That'll have to do for now." Harper started running back to the conduit, but was knocked off of his feet by another violent explosion. Andromeda's hologram blinked off. "Andromeda?" Harper asked. The lights went out and the dim emergency lights came on. He looked around the room for a second, expecting another attack from a former enemy. "Dylan?" he said into his comm. link.   
  
"Harper, I need you to get everything working right now. Andromeda's weapons are offline, and we're facing ten enemy ships."   
  
"Sure thing, boss," Harper replied weakly. He crawled back into the conduit and started working on the wiring, checking the entrance to the conduit every couple of minutes.  
  
* * *   
  
"Alright, Charlemagne," Dylan said angrily, "who are those people and what is going on?"  
  
"Well, to answer your first question, I have no idea who those people are. Second, there is a chemical unbalance on your ship that is making you and your crew relive past memories."  
  
"So how is it that I got my tail kicked by Satrina Leander?" Beka asked.  
  
"Satrina Leander didn't kick your 'tail,' Captain Valentine, you did. You only imagined that it was Leander. You see, your crew is suffering from the symptoms of schizophrenia." Charlemagne chuckled under his breath.  
  
"So you're saying that this chemical unbalance is making us all insane?" Tyr asked.  
  
"Correct, Mr. Anasazi. Right now, you all belong in a mental institution."  
  
"Then what about Rommie?" Dylan asked after some thought.  
  
"Ah, yes… The ship's android. Well, it's interesting, you know. Your engineer is suffering the most from this chemical unbalance. When this all started, he reprogrammed the android and the ship's artificial intelligence to believe whatever the crew says. He basically made her a puppet."  
  
"I don't believe any of this," Beka said angrily. "It doesn't match up. Why would Harper do that? And why is it that Andromeda didn't detect this unbalance earlier?"  
  
"I did," Rommie said as she walked onto command. "And I thought I'd fixed it. But by then, Harper had already been effected, and I couldn't do anything to stop him from reprogramming me."  
  
"Then how can you remember this now?"  
  
"One of his men fixed the problem," Rommie said as she pointed at Charlemagne.   
  
"Glad we could help," Charlemagne said slyly with a bow.   
  
Rommie sighed and said, "I've fixed the unbalance, but that won't solve the problem. One of his scientists tells me they've got a serum that will put the chemicals in your body back into balance. They've already given it to Trance, who by the way was never turning purple. She's as gold as ever." A Nietzschean appeared behind her holding two syringes fully of clear fluid.   
  
"Captain Hunt, Captain Valentine," he said with a slight bow. "Who's first?"  
  
Dylan looked around at everybody for a moment, deciding whether he should believe everything or not. Finally he shrugged and rolled up his sleeve. "If I die, kill all these people and get as far away from here as possible. You'll take over as captain," he said to Beka. The Nietzschean smiled as he stuck the needle in Dylan's arm and injected the serum. Dylan gave Charlemagne an unsure look. Then a feeling of sickness came over him as the Nietzschean pulled the needle out of his arm. He struggled to stay standing, leaning against Beka for support.   
  
"What's wrong with him?" Beka asked, worried.   
  
"He's fine. It's just the serum taking effect," Rommie said as she helped Beka support him. They led him to the wall behind them and leaned him against it. "Beka, go on." Rommie pointed at the Nietzschean, who was waiting for Beka to return. Beka walked to him, pulling her sleeve up hesitantly. After she got the shot, she sat on the floor as she lost her balance. "Wow," she said, deadpan. "This stuff is great. Almost as good as flash." 


	12. Chapter 12

Beka woke up in her bunk on the Maru to find Trance standing over her with a smile on her face. She was back to her golden shine, although she hadn't really turned purple again. "We've got work to do," she said. Beka sat up, recovered from the dizziness, and got out of her bunk.   
  
Dylan met her halfway to the command deck. "Feeling better?" he asked. "I feel like yesterday was just a dream, now."  
  
"Me too," Beka said vacantly. "Is everybody back to normal?"   
  
"Well… Almost everybody."  
  
"Harper?"  
  
"We can't find him right now."  
  
"Oh, great. We've got an insane engineer running loose on the ship…" Beka sighed as they walked into command. She looked shocked as she looked out into empty space. "What about the ships that were attacking us?"  
  
"I took care of them," Charlemagne rang in. "After some friendly weapon's fire, they just left."  
  
"It wasn't exactly friendly fire, Bolivar," Tyr said as he turned around. "You practically vaporized five of their ships."  
  
"Four," Charlemagne corrected. "Only four."  
  
"Dylan, we've found Harper," Rommie's voice came over the comm. link system. "We're taking him to the med deck now. I think he'll be out for a while."  
  
"You didn't damage him, did you, Rommie?" Dylan said with a smile.   
  
"Only a little," Rommie laughed.   
  
"Wait just a minute!" Beka suddenly shouted. "Why is it that yesterday, all Hell broke loose on the ship, and now everything is all puppies and tulips?"  
  
Everybody gave her a weird look. Dylan shook his head and smiled. "I have to tell you something, Beka."  
  
"What?" Beka said suspiciously.  
  
"None of this ever happened."  
  
"WHAT!"  
  
* * *   
  
Beka found herself in her bunk on the Maru once again. She sat up and rubbed her eyes wearily, then wandered to command on Andromeda. When she got there, Dylan and Trance turned and looked at her. They looked at each other with huge smiles. "What?" Beka asked. She looked around. "Did Charlemagne and his men already leave?"  
  
Trance raised an eyebrow. "Charlemagne Bolivar? He was never here, Beka."  
  
"Yeah, he was. Don't tell me you guys can't remember yesterday." Blank stares answered her question. "Don't you remember the kitten, and Satrina Leander, and Charlemagne Bolivar, and the ships, and the serum? You guys have to remember the SERUM!" More blank stares.   
  
"I think she had too much to drink," Trance whispered.   
  
"I think so, too," Dylan whispered back. "Whatever you want to believe Beka."  
  
"But it really happened! What are you talking about? Too much to drink of what?"  
  
Harper wandered through the door whistling an old Frank Sinatra tune. He stopped when he saw Beka. "Oh, hello, Rebecca." He held in a laugh. "Or should I say Strawberry? Feeling any better this," he looked at his watch, "afternoon?"  
  
"WHAT?!" Beka was starting to get irritated. "I have no idea what any of you are talking about!"  
  
"You had quite a good time last night at the casino," Dylan answered. "How many drinks did she have again, Harper?"  
  
"Ten shots of tequila, three beers, and a Sparky," Harper said as he counted off on his fingers all the different drinks she had. "Plus body shots."  
  
"BODY SHOTS?" Beka shouted.   
  
"Oh yeah. Some stud muffin you met at the bar," Harper laughed again.  
  
Beka put a hand on her forehead. "Oh, dear God," she said. "Is that why I smell like Vodka and strawberry Jell-O?" Harper nodded and laughed harder. Beka blushed bright red and ran out of command. Everybody laughed hysterically.   
  
Trance walked to Harper and put her arm around his shoulders. "We should go to the casino more often." Harper nodded in agreement as he wiped a tear out of his eye.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Okay, so this story had a really crappy ending. Sorry... I think by the time I was down to this chapter, I just got so tired of it, I wanted to end it. Why do I even write? I think all my stories are horrible. *Shakes head* I don't know anymore... 


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